Method and apparatus for marking tire flaps



2 sheets-sheet 1 O. ABBOTT, JR

Filed June 8, 1921 Pea. 19, 1924.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MARKING TIRE FLAFS Feb. i9 9 w24.,

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MARKING TIRE FLAPS Filed June 8, 1921 2 Sheew-$hee i i /3 Sif METHOD .LFPRTS FR MARKING TERE .application )Tied fune To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, Ammin O. ABBOTT, Jr., a citizen oi the United. States, residing at Detroit, county of lVayne, and -dtate of Michigan, have invented certain new 'and useful improvements in lilethods ancltpparatus for Marking rEire Flaps, oit which the following is a full, clear, and exact descripn tion. s

This invention relates to an ter branding articles of rubberized fabric in general and in particular tire flaps.

It is desirable to indicate upon the Vari1 ous sizes ot flaps, the particular size of tire for which they are intended inasmuch as if placed in the wrong tire, serious damage to the inner tube may result. llerei'olore this data or information has been printed in ink, usually'with hand stamps. The Work' has not been done in a uniform manner and the ink has been found to smear and render the lettering illegible in the necessary handling and piling up of the 'aps A. .high degree of' humidity aggravates or increases the liability of smearing. The tire laps are also often curved in cross section and. more or less warped and difficulty has been encountered in stamping them uniformly in the saine location and with the saine intensity..

rlhe present invention aims to provide a branding apparatus that Will mari; articles of rubberized fabric, or of rubber eoniposi` tion, witn a uniform intensity, in the same relative location, and in a legibie non-smear able vfashion. And it particularly aims to permit this to be done to a laminated type of tire flap that is more or less curved in cross section and. of variablethiclrness from edge to edge,

W ith the illustrated embodiment of the invention in mind and Without intention to unnecessarily limit its scope, the invention, cona clsely stated, consists in branding or searing the identify/ing characters onto the article. The apparatus consists ci branding plate which is adapted to be heated, and

' a work supgort that is shiftable towards the branding plate to hold the articie against the heatedV characters thereof.

`Theinvca'iticn is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which; n

Figs-l and 2 are bottom and top plan views, respectively, of the branding bead, t e latter being partly broken away to better i lustrate the constri-ietion,

fl-/l and 5-5, respectively, of

1921. Serial lilo. 475,953.

3 is a cross section on the line 3 3 Fig. 2,

Figs. Ll and 5 are cross sections on the lines Fig. 2,

liigs. 6 and l are a plan View and side eleratiou, respectively, of the Work support.,

Figs. 8 andL 3 are cross sections on th lines 8--8 and .SL-9, respectively, ci? (i,

Fig. lO is a elevation of the apparatus assembled, and

Fig. ll is a diagrammatic section of a typical tire flap.

The branding,T mechanism is illustrated. in detail in Figs. l to 5. It consists of a holder l provided with a tan-tailed groove 2 lier reception ot any one of a number of branding platesl 3, whose bottom faces are pre` vided with identifying characters such as those shown in Figfl. Immediately above the holder l is located a sheet of insulating material Ll, such as mica, and thereabove an electrical heatingelement 5 o seine suitable metallic composition. The latter is preferably inade in one piece and doubly folded as indicated at (3 so that the major portion of the metallic ribbon 5 may lie in two parallel strands which are suitably secured as indicated at 7 between the folded portions of terminal plates 8, to which latter a current of suitable intensity may be supplied in. any convenient manner. Above theheatinsy element 5 a relatively poor conducting substance 9, such as asbestos, is laid to thro7 the heat into the branding' member 3 as Well as to 'insulate it electrically.v The holder l .is bolted as indicated at l0 to a backing plate l1.

The tire is held on a Work support, which is illustrated in detail in Fins. (i to 9, inclusive; The Work support comprises a channel bloclc 1Q. which bas upstanding side flanges 13 and a central rib le which is pro` vided with groups ot sockets l5 and le et each of its ends for the reception of support ing springs l?. The central projection lli is slottedlengthwise (and through' the sockets) as indicated at 18 te receive a plurality of bars or sections 19 Whose bottom faces rest on the sprines l? and are thereby yieidably. supiorted.. 19 are preferaol of a size and spacing relative to one anot er suitable to accommodate the step-down structure ort 'the Well-known laminated. 'tire tlap. Their number and Width-may, of eourse, .be varied as desired,

the construction illustrated having been found to operate satisfactorily.

,To hold theA marginal portions of the laps down in a more or less at condition, the outermost sections 19 have suitably secured to them the flattening devices 2O of the onside ill-shaped sheet-metal construction illustrated, their upper surfaces terminating clear of the sections 19 to which thev are respectivelyattached. These liattening devices are preferably, but not necessarily, substantially U l have provided an apparatus in' which there eea-extensive with the bars or sections 19.

The flattening devices 20 are made large enough to receive the largest flap and are not adjustable as to Width. To properly guide iaps of .various Widths, adjustable edge guiding devices 21 and 22 are located adjacent the opposite ends of the bars or sections 19, each ot these edge guiding devices being made in two parts having their opposed bottom Walls lapped as indicated at 23 and preferably also the similarly dis posed parts of each are joined by vertical Webs 24' which are flanged as indicated at 25 for stiffness. The flanges 25 are adapted to project through openings v26 provided in the channel block 12. The edge guiding devices 21 and 22, Which are of substantially the same construction, are each provided with a right and left hand threaded screw 27 for permitting the approach or separation of their parts suitable to the size ot' flap being marked, these screws being readily operated by the accessible knurled heads 28 pinned to their protruding ends.

is shown in Fig. 10, the branding mechanism, which is indicated generally by the numeral 29, is looseiy seated in a slotted head 39 in any suitable manner as by the rod and bracket arm B2 to a column 33. In a second bracket arm 34, which is y thickness 'illustrated may be readily threaded through the` edge guiding' device 21, flatteninfr device 20 and the second edge guiding evice 22, and thus put in `a position ready for a branding operation. The op ,crater thenby merely depressing the treadle 42 may elevate the flap and raise it against the ,branding characters on the late 3, which if heated to a temperature o around E1000 F. Will quickly scar 'the desiredmarking thereon.

By the yielding construction of the Work support, i. e., by the independent movement of the sections 19 which is permitted by the springs 17, inequalities in the thickness of the flap in cross section are taken care of and a substantially uniform intensity of marking isobtained. Preferably thev sections or bars 19 are made equal in number and spaced similar to the rows of characters on the marking plate 3. K

From the foregoing it Will be seen that I is no possibility of smearing the identifying marking, by Which successive fiaps may be branded in about the same location, at least relative the edges of the iaps, and in which there will be no blemishing of the margins of the iap, the latter being held down dat, or substantiallly so, adjacent the area. Where the mark is made.

As it Will be obvious that many changes may be made in the details of the construction, Without departing from the principles of theinvention, reference should be made to the accompanying claims for an understanding of its scope.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for marking tire flaps, in combination, a branding mechanism including metallic characters and means 'for heating the metallic characters,/`and a Work support, said work support and branding mechanism bein shiftable to and from cooperative branding relation, and means for insuringsimilar location of a branding mark on successive aps and a uniform intensity of branding on each flap despite inequalities in its thickness.

2. In an apparatus for marking tire liaps, in combination, a branding member, means for supporting and heating the branding member, a Work support, means'for rela tively moving the Work support and the branding member, and edge' guiding and flattening devices.

3. In an apparatus for marking tire faps, in combination, a branding member, means for supporting and heating the branding member, a work support, edve guiding devices at op osite ends of the branding; A.neinber, ed e attening devices at opposite ends of the randing member, said edge guiding devices being adjustable to .accommodate flaps of dierent Widths, and means permitting relative movement of the branding member and Work support.

Signed at Detroit, Michigan, this 25th day of May, 1921.

ADRIAN o. ancora, JR. 

